Back from Retirement

When I was getting ready to move to MN for college, dreams of snowboarding filled my mind.  There was a ton of snow there right?  My dreams were quickly dashed as I saw the low hills surrounding me and no mountains in site!  The second winter I was in MN I thought I’d give it a try anyway, there was a small ski park just a few miles from our college.  After paying almost $30 for a lift ticket and finding the longest run to last less than 30 second, I was mad.  What a dumb place and why would anyone waste their time here?  My friend and I left pretty quick, not even worth trying to get any use out of our non-refundable ticket. With my dreams gone, I packed up my snowboard and left it back in California at my parent’s house.  I figured maybe on some trips home I’d be able to squeeze in a trip to Mt. Shasta.

Now years later, my anger has subsided and my home has become MN.  So I thought maybe it was time to give the hills a second chance.  I wasn’t going to go back to the Normandale park, but maybe there was something else around here…  The past three winters I was pregnant or in Ukraine.  So this year was my chance.  About 8 minutes from our house is Buck Hill.  They have a bunch of lifts, rope tows, and even a magic carpet (whatever that is?!?).  Not wanting to waste my money again – I went for the Sunday night deal, $10 for 7:30-10pm.

Five years since my last trip snowboarding (and two kids later!), I wasn’t sure if I should be nervous or not.  Was I going to fall on my face and slide the whole way down the hill?  Well, the bicycle theory proved true with snowboarding, and I was right back into it.  It was a lot of fun and worth the $10.  Although, it made me miss Mt. Shasta.  These runs were longer  and better than the horrible first experience I had in MN, but they were short.  It’s a hill I guess, not a mountain.  I love the  long, winding runs through the peaceful trees in California.  Buck Hill was a great park for what it was.  It was quite busy, full of teens, lots of young twenty-somethings, a few older adults.  I wondered how many were just enjoying the best the town had to offer or how many just don’t know what their missing out on. The view was great, I could see the surrounding towns and even had a great view of the Minneapolis skyline.

Will I go back?  As fun as it was, probably not anytime soon.  But maybe one day! If we’re still around, it’d be a great place to get the kids started at!